TRAINING FOR YOUTH ORGANISATION LEADERS

Actually it was good that I learnt about my trip at short notice. Frankly speaking, I was fed up with the city. I was called a day before the trip…. 'Would I be on the waiting list? ' I thought, 'No wonder, I have heard that there are plenty of people willing to take part in the training. Leading an organization is the topic of the training. Excellent, a useful thing not only for an NGO but also for my future work. 'We all met at the railway station in Gdynia. Young people from different organizations, different corners of Poland. The bus we were to go by to Krynica Morska was far too big for 20 people. We saw most of the people for the first time, so we all preferred single seats away from other passengers. When we reached our destination, it was quite late. The trainers had already been waiting for us. 'They work in the Warsaw Foundation of Education for Democracy, ' I recalled, 'it's good, I have heard a lot of good things about them' Already after dinner the activities started. At once great speed. Those who thought they had come to spend the weekend lying about and relaxing were wrong. As I thought, get-together activities first. Actually I had already taken part in all those plays many times, but once again they turned out to be useful. We felt we were a team. Next day the reveille at 8 a. m. Very early. Then activities at once. And like this for four days. After all we had come to learn something. It's good activities were not a series of lectures. Actually all this time we spent on showing our abilities, while trainers only led discussions or exercises. On the bus back home we all sat together.

Results of the training? For sure I got to know a lot of new organizations whose existence I was not even aware of. And that was the main objective of the training. Integration of organizations, associations whose offer is addressed to young people.

Following a series of training for young leaders, Centre for Youth co-operation and Mobility attempts to make it easier for Polish organisations to contact similar ones operating abroad. So, at the end of March representatives of European NGOs came to Gdynia on a study visit. They got to know their Polish equivalents.